


Somber Nights

by arizonia1



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Late Night Conversations, Xenoblade spoilers, not a lot but a decent amount
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:21:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23676793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arizonia1/pseuds/arizonia1
Summary: In terms of the party, Dunban has always been one of the more mysterious ones. He keeps his emotions constantly in check, and others rarely know what he's thinking. Sharla's not sure she can let that slide much longer when she sees him staring out at the night sky.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	Somber Nights

"Dunban? What are you doing up at this time?"  
  
Sharla's calm voice had cut through the quiet of night, as it caught Dunban's attention. She was still dressed, despite the unholy hour of the night and her own question towards him. He turned away from the railing that overlooked the view of Eryth Sea, to look back at her before responding.  
  
"Is it wrong to admire the view?"  
  
"Dunban, it's somewhere around three in the morning; you surely must be getting tired. We don't need a night watch while we're here in Alcamoth."  
  
He elected not to properly answer, and turned back to stare out across Eryth Sea, admiring the stars, the ethereal glow of the Floating Reefs, and whatever else caught his eye for the moment. His gaze lingered more on the starlit sky above, almost with a hint of... longing.  
  
Sharla sighed and shook her head, before joining Dunban against the railing.

"If you're not going to sleep, then can I ask what's wrong?"  
  
"Riki's told you what the stars mean to Nopon right?"  
  
Sharla pondered the question. "He once said that the Nopon believe those are the spirits of our loved ones, watching over us. I've heard the story before; it comes up often in divination tomes." She turned her gaze towards Dunban, who remained ever stone-faced. "Why?"  
  
"Let me ask another question first. Do you think Homs become those stars of Ether as well? Those who had proper burial, of course."  
  
There was some hesitation in the answer that followed.  
  
"Personally, I don't. Not because I believe us Homs aren't worthy to watch from above, but because I believe we're destined to be reborn as someone else. Most of our Ether will be returned to the Bionis, but Bionis itself will reuse that Ether to build our spirits anew."  
  
As Sharla spoke, she carefully watched Dunban's reaction. He barely reacted to most things, an unfortunate side-effect of numbing himself to emotion, but this in particular seemed to reach him. She watched his look of longing grow slightly more intense, as his eyes traced the constellations.  
  
"What about you, Dunban?"  
  
At least a minute or so passed before Dunban finally responded, his voice starting to waver slightly. An uneasy stillness had settled on the two while she waited for his response.  
  
"I'm unsure myself, anymore. If I ever knew. There's a woman back in Colony 9 that has a similar mindset to you: she believes all Homs are destined to meet in another life, but that is so long as we are submerged in water post-mortem." He paused briefly to take a breath. "The Nopon believe that the souls of the fallen are to become part of the night sky. Yet... I'm quite positive that there are those of us that are destined to be chained to the spot we die in."  
  
Dunban's grip against the railing was getting tighter, but it was quite evident he was shaking. "I don't know why I'm so absorbed in the thought of death. I've come to terms with my own mortality, yet there's still a deep part of me that... that fears what may happen to me once I pass."  
  
Sharla rested a hand against Dunban's shoulder, as a sign of comfort. Of anyone on the team, she was probably one of the only ones that understood Dunban's pain the most.  
  
"It's only natural to fear death. We may live in a warzone, but that doesn't make it any less becoming of you to be scared, Dunban."  
  
"That may be true, Sharla, but I believe I'm not as fearful of death as compared to my fear of what's after." He paused briefly to turn towards Sharla, his eyes starting to shine wetly in the darkness. "You remember the Mechon attack from twelve years ago, correct?"  
  
She nodded. "Of course. I told you about how I was so scared for Juju that day. You also told me how you braved the attack with Fiora on your back, just to retrieve a keepsake of your mother." She looked down at the ground, as though she was ashamed of the memory.  
  
"Well, I'm sure you were much too young to recall the attack five years prior to that one."  
  
"I remember some of that day, I was only around five at the time, and Juju hadn't even been born yet."  
  
Dunban nodded for a moment as he acknowledged her statement. "Well, that was the day I lost my father. I believe... that it was what started me down this path of macabre optimism I follow. I was forced to bear witness to the slaughter of my own family, and then was saddled with the responsibility of parenthood within the same hour."

Sharla decided not to say anything, as she watched a single tear race down his face. She had been told he hates when people see him crying.  
  
"I have no idea what happened to him after that day. I don't know if he's been one of the many Faces we've been forced to kill, somehow, or if the blood shed on my family home's walls were the last traces of him ever living. Mum had been given a proper burial, having died only a few months prior due to illness, but I never saw dad again." His gaze returned to the sky above. "For a few years, I nearly threw my own life away just to ensure Fiora was as healthy as I could assure. I'm sure there were some months I was hours away from death myself."  
  
"Is that..." Sharla stopped for a moment to phrase her question. "Is that why you're curious to what may happen to our souls? Because you've been dancing with death for so long?"  
  
Dunban's head lowered, and looked down at the vast sea below. "That may be part of it. Have I led a selfless enough life that Bionis will grant me a new, better life, once this body fails? Or... will I become like those of the High Entia Tomb, and become a restless spirit?" His voice became a little softer as he finished his thoughts. "I'm sure I want some aspect of the former, to see a new life without all of this war and death, but the rest of me, perhaps selfishly, wants to believe the Nopon are right and we become the stars above. If only so I could see my parents again."  
  
Sharla gave Dunban a reassuring pat on his shoulder. She could relate to how he felt. In fact, at this exact moment, she was sure that only she knew exactly what he's gone through. They've both had just enough similar experiences that, deep down, Dunban knew that he could let this out to her and not get sympathy and pity. She was the only person he could confide in with this...

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this at work when I had nothing else to be doing at that moment. I compiled a lot of different information from the game in here that you only get either from talking to NPCs, doing different Heart-to-Hearts, and one little piece of information really only brought up in the Monado Archives. There's some headcanon in here, but not a whole lot honestly.
> 
> Also, Dunban and Sharla don't really get to interact enough, which is sad, because they're quite similar in backstory but have different outlooks on life.


End file.
